


Sunflowers and thorny trees

by Eagefrien



Series: MSA one shots [28]
Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Arthur meets shiromori, Gen, Lost in the Woods, MINOR DESCRIPTIONS OF VIOLENCE, Sleep Walking, Worms, descriptions of messy food eating, deworming if you will, implied humans being eaten, one character has parasites and the other helps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:26:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29910036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eagefrien/pseuds/Eagefrien
Summary: Arthur is a sleep walker, and he finds himself on old and desolate roads with no one around. This time, he meets a creature covered in flowers.
Relationships: Arthur & Shiromori (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Series: MSA one shots [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1667953
Comments: 5
Kudos: 23





	Sunflowers and thorny trees

Trudging through the bushes and half muddied ground, Arthur scans his surroundings, praying, searching for a forest guardian. A creature whose sole purpose was to defend and protect its territory from wraiths and evils. Allowing the forest to flourish, and assisting all of the lives who pass through it. Humans and animals alike… _Maybe if none were around-_ he doubted there would be, if the dense and _dead_ feeling in his gut told him anything- _then some friendly drivers will notice him and lend a hand…?_ Arthur pushes aside a thicket of branches, taking in the very, _very_ empty road. Cold and decrepit…

“Yeah no, that’s not gonna happen,” Arthur mumbles, finding comfort in his own voice as it fought off the trembling nerves waking up. The last thing he needs right now is a panic attack. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Arthur scans his surroundings again. “What the _fuck…_ How did I get _here_ of all places?” He pats his thigh again, before shoving his hand in to see and _pray_ that his phone was _maybe_ in there-!

“Dammit-!” Arthur hisses, resisting every urge to bang his head against a tree around him. The only thing he could possibly do was just walk. Maybe if he were fast enough, he could find a house or a place that had some form of communication. Call his friends before he was reported _missing._ He wanted to believe that they- Lance really- wouldn’t do that, but last time Arthur went _sleepwalking_ , Vivi had called _every single police department_ in the county to look for him. It was _not_ fun waking up to being shoved in a cop car, that’s for sure.

Wind rustles through the trees behind him, waking him just enough to brace himself seconds before the wind slams into him. Regardless, ripples of shivers shoot all over. _Figures._ Arthur grits his teeth, hugging himself. His ratty sweatpants and thin shirt did _nothing_ against the cold. His runny nose and eyes can attest to it.

Shuffling faster, Arthur rubs his side furiously and glares through the forest. There _should_ be a guardian around here _somewhere!_ There always seemed to be one in each county. The less people present the more there would be, and unless there was a town just right past the line of trees, there should be at least _one._

 _Don’t kid yourself. Wraiths and spirits could slowly eat them entirely, or drive them away and bleed the earth dry of its energy. That has to be what’s happening here, it felt_ **_off-_ **

Something shifts. Just out of his line of sight, but noticeable enough. A _white_ against the backdrop of dark blues and grays...

_Mystery?_

Arthur blinks. Too disoriented to care if it was or wasn’t. 

“H-hey!” His voice gives out with a rough cough. Arthur wipes his mouth and keeps following after. “E-excuse me? I-I need to help! I’m lost and, and I can’t do much for you right now, but I can hunt for you and bring you something-“

Arthur’s running, body waking enough to go faster, picking through the branches and bushes until he freezes. His internal spiritual clockwork screaming with warning signs.

_What... what is this?_

He couldn’t feel _anything_ from the tall figure, nothing that could clue him in if it was safe. 

Forest guardians don’t normally wear _clothes,_ and their white robes stood out starkly against blue bark. 

The tree sticking out of their head only made them taller, something red speckling the white leaves. 

Arthur stares unmoving.His trembling legs rooted into the ground as the being turns. Wide, white eyes glistened sharply. The tree - thing - was _glaring_ at him, with red and white lining their eyes and enunciating the _annoyance_ on their face.

_”What.”_

“A...” His one arm shakes, limp at his side. “Hi... Hi, I’m... ca-can you help me?”

“Why would I do something like that?” Their eyes narrow threateningly. “You’re nothing but a puny human, and the only purpose you can serve to me is helping _me_ or _dying.”_ Leaves and grass crunch under her foot as they take a step closer to him. Heartbeat in his ears, Arthur nearly buckles under his weight as he backs away. Desperate for more space between him and the guardian- _if they can even be called that._ They don't stop. 

“W-wait- are you s-sure there’s nothing else..?” An anxious laugh titters along his words. As if it would do anything. He was pleading at this point. Hoping for anything to ensure his own survival.

But the tree person's hand- _giant, enormous, encompassing his entire chest-_ shoots out for him.

Arthurs brain stalls. _Run, run, get out of here, get away-!_ His brain urgently warns him. Adrenaline rockets through his useless limbs to spur him to _run_.

Too late. Stomach lurching, he struggles as fingers snap around his torso, squeezing and lifting. Finally able to feel his legs, Arthur kicks frantically, weight dropping to his feet as he’s suspended. 

“Please-!” His heart lurches painfully against the knuckles, “Please don’t h-hurt me..! I’ll do anything, I promise-“ he gasps, “I swear- I won’t- I won’t hurt you, and I’ll only leave you alone-“

“I’m not too worried over that,” they say, licking their lips in a way that makes his blood run cold. Their grip tightens a fraction around his ribs as they bring him close to their face. Bark ridges outline their eyelids and the anger seeping out of their gaze. One gnarly fanged tooth glints dangerously in their snarling grin.

_Was he about to die? What’s going to happen to Vivi? How is she going to find Lewis? Will she forgive him for vanishing-?_

The tree holds him even closer. Paralyzed by terror, Arthur squeezes his eyes shut, unable to watch if they unhinge their jaw to bite his head off and end his life- 

_Sniff sniff._

Arthur stiffens, feeling their breath on his cheeks… After a few seconds, nothing. ...Nothing? His thoughts slowly bud after their abrupt halt, but Arthur didn’t _dare_ crack his eye open to see what they were possibly doing. Except, his body forces him anyway. The first thing he sees is an oddly reflective sheen of a bead larger than his eyeball, to which he can see his bafflement. Then the large forearm, wrist, chest- _where those breasts?_ \- the white hair, and finally their- _her?_ \- face. 

She’s staring at him flatly. Or more accurately, shes busy smelling his hair and fiddling with his antennas.

 _What…?_ He opens his mouth but, with a quick glare stabbing him, he shuts up quickly.

Her massive hand reaches over his head, running over his scalp, and _plucks_ several strands out of his head. Arthur clenches his teeth, biting back his yelp as his eyes water in pain.

She eye it inquisitively, almost bored.

“Perhaps you _could_ be some use to me.” She hums, accent difficult to make out at first against the throb in his head. Forcing his eyes open, Arthur watches as the tree opens her palm with the strands falling inside. 

Before a small ray of light blooms from her hand. A large bulbous form rising from her palm, pulsing three times before bursting open. A lotus flower. The petals to crisp and fall flat, revealing a crooked dangling sunflower. Something small, and wilting. One of the petals fall off. 

She scoffs, crushing it easily. Arthur gasps, limbs shooting out and locking up at the heavy jolt rocketing through him, like _he_ was the one in her hand. But as she opens it, his body slumps. The tree woman flinches, eyebrows flying up in surprise, looking out of character on her face for some reason. Unable to think much of _why,_ Arthur’s eyes drop to her palm. 

A new lotus tries and fails to bloom from the crushed remains. The petals red, wide and more flared out. The surprise melts into a wicked, wide smile that conveyed more fury than pleasure.

“Well then,” she turns and focuses on him, the dreaded grin makes Arthur’s weak limbs ache and shake. “Let’s say you do help me. How far are you willing to go? How much will you stretch yourself?” Her voice was both soft and sweet, contrasting the smile full set of sharp, jagged teeth. 

Arthur’s breathing picks up until he’s panting, unable to breathe. His lungs press against his ribs. If he could run away he would, but his legs dangle and kick uselessly as he stares transfixed. Then, several smaller vines sprout from her arms and crept toward him. 

“No- _no no no-!”_ He gasps out, trying to lurch himself back. But her grin widens and he can see red rings echo around her pupils. 

“I don’t think you can help me in any way that will allow you to live.” She teases, and her grip squeezes around his straining ribs. Arthur grips the fingers, trying to pull them off- but to no avail.

Several of the small miniature vines whip around and lock around his shoulders and neck, their sharp points raised high like snakes.

 _Is this- is this how he dies?_

_No- no it can’t be! He was going to find Lewis. He would reunite him with Vivi-! Mystery swore-!!_

And as if god could hear him, The woman’s face twists with shock, and she looks back at her open palm.

Another wilting sunflower shot out from the center of the lotus, growing taller and more vibrant this time as the lotus dies. It bounces up and down, wobbling, but still facing the moon past her head. Pleading.

Instantly, her grip loosens, and Arthur sags. _Maybe kicking his feet will help him wiggle out-?_

“What happened to you?” 

Arthur’s attention snaps forward, breath hitching as he meets the intense gaze of the tree woman. His breathing picks up and he struggles more. Exhausted, straining thoughts begging him to escape and flee. 

“I said _why are you so hurt?”_

“Wh-what?” His teeth grind together as her fingers twitch. Despite how her face momentarily twists, she grew taller until- ... his feet are planted on the ground. The vines around him retract, and he’s released. Legs giving out, Arthur collapses, splayed out on his back. 

The tree woman’s hand is still held beside her head, and she kept glancing over at it and back.. 

Arthur’s chest heaves as he sniffles and tries to regain his breath, “I... I’m sorry, I really don’t- what do you m-mean?” 

“Your _soul.”_ She bends and the wilting sunflower brushes against his forehead as she forces it in his face. The bent stem cracks before him, surrounded by flat lotus petals which grew dimmer by the second, before disintegrating. “This flower shouldn’t be as wilted as it is, unless you were dying...” She explains, standing tall and authoritative. Arthur could only stare dumbly at it. Mouth hanging open and getting stale. She glances at it again, before chuckling, if you could even call it that. “I suppose that bastard got you too, is that it?”

“Wh...” Arthur’s brain ran in circles, unable to focus on any fact presented before him, except for one. “Why aren’t you hurting me...?”

“Is that what you want?”

“N-no! No.. I’m- im grateful but... I mean, you were _just about to..._ and...” Wow the more he talked the dumber he got. He could be negotiating to escape with all of his remaining limbs, not asking why he isn’t in her stomach!

She snickers. “Is that really what you’re curious about? Well, I’ll be blunt. This _sunflower,”_ she lightly wiggles it, “is a testament that you’re trustworthy. At least _somewhat._ So I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt.”

Arthur gulps harshly, knees folding closer to his chest. “Th-that so? Uh... Wh-why?”

“People of the sunflower are one of the most trustworthy. They assist and help, and their loyalty can hardly be beaten. Most of the time, they approach me offering help, just as you did.” 

_Shes... eloquent for a tree._ Somehow it felt weird...

“O... okay. Yeah, I can kinda see that.”

“Now, I want you to think hard about something. If you give me this information, I can promise you that your life will be spared.” She leans down, coming eye to eye with Arthur. The smell of _blood_ wafting off her lips, “have you come into contact with a kitsune as of late?”

 _A... a kitsune?_ Arthur blinks harshly, the gears in his head turning quickly. Reminding him of _snapping teeth. Gleaming eyes, white fur. Tails all around him._ Arthur’s hand shakes as it grips his shoulder, a wheeze creeping out. 

“Y... yeah, I .. I think I did?” 

“You think?”

“It- it took my arm... I don’t remember why or... or _where_ . But I think it was in a cave and... It attacked me.” Attacked him after... after _what?_ When he got separated from Lewis ...? “I can’t really remember it all.. my friends and I went in and then- _something_ happened. My friend is gone and the other one doesn’t remember him and then… my arm. I only really remember growling.” 

“How long ago?”

Arthur swallows. Recalling the time in the hospital and how long it seems to drag on, going home, recovering...

“About ... two months ago.”

“Hmph.” She grimaced, before glancing around and taking in their surroundings. “Then it may still be in the area.” 

“Wh-why are you...” quickly garners her attention, and Arthur shuffles back, “...looking for it? Did it hurt you?”

She chuckles after a second, “more than hurt. The horrible bastard destroyed my trust, betrayed me for the enemy. Before encasing me in a wall of frost. I’ve only just escaped my prison, and I want to greet my old _friend.”_ For a second, her eyes glint, before they soften as they fall on him. “I ... I hate that they injured you.”

Somehow she seemed conflicted in saying that. That, or Arthur was conflicted himself, considering she was just trying to end his life...

He doesn’t say anything. Glancing behind him himself, scanning for a flash of familiar blue or a red siren or... anyone really.

There was no one.

“You know, it’s been a long while since I’ve spoken to a human,” A creaking fills the air, Arthur flinches and turns back to see the tree woman was now sat on her knees _-can you even call it knees?-_ Resembling a thoughtful monks statue for half a moment. “It’s rather nice, don’t you think?” 

Fumbling, Arthur scrambles and mimics her. His knees pop angrily, but he tries not to pay it mind. Instead craning his neck to meet her gaze. “I-I guess..! I’ll admit, I’ve never really.. talked to a lot of the supernatural. So I don’t have a frame of reference..” _So do you mind filling him in on the whole crushing thing with the vines?_

Arthur gulps. _Best not to say that._ She may be calm now but who knows if this serenity is just a ploy or not. He brushes off a pang of guilt. “I’ll... I’ll be honest, I didn’t.. really expect you to speak English so well? U-uh.. where are you from? You have a small... a-accent?”

“Oh, do I? I suppose I haven’t noticed it. But to answer your question, I’m from Japan. I’ll spare you the specifics, since I doubt you’ll be aware of the exact location.”

“O-oh? Uh, I know a bit about Japan? Wanna at least check?”

She puffs out a laugh, before she says the name.

... _Huh?_

Arthur blinks, eyebrows furrowing. It sounded... kinda like Japanese...?

“Don’t think about it too much.” She tilts her head, “I believe a better description of my orgin would be _ancient japan.”_

 _... oh._

“Th-that so? When did you learn English then?”

“English... A little over forty days ago.”

“Wait- seriously?” Leaning forward, Arthur can hardly stop his baffled expression, “how’d you learn so fast?”

“Simple,” her grin never falters, “I eat the humans brain, and I absorb their skills that way.”

...

_What?_

Chuckling, she lifts a hand and shows off her much larger arm. Several of the small needle-like vines sprout out from in between the bark and rise like serpents, before vanishing in the bark. Arthur- petrified- sits there silently. 

“Are you nervous?” She tilts her head, the leaves rustling like the shiver running up his spine, “don’t worry. Like I said, you’re a sunflower. I’d much rather keep an ally alive then to learn new vocabulary.” With that last bit she rolls her eyes, clearly annoyed with something.

 _How does he respond to that?_ The skin on Arthur’s shoulder aches as he unintentionally pinches it from the adrenaline rushing through him. Phantom stabs pierce through his clothes and the image of blood being sucked out of his body refused to leave Arthur's mind. He gulps, swallowing past the thick lump in his throat.

“Th-that so..? I’m y-your ally?” 

“Well of course,” she didn’t stop smiling. _Was that intentional? Does she know how to emote when manipulating?_ “how does the saying go? An enemy of my enemy, is my _friend.”_

His stomach lurches, but at the same time, his shoulders drip with relief. 

“I-I still can’t help you much..” _Why did he say that?_

“That’s quite alright. I’m sure you can help me in other ways if need be.”

_How does he deal with this? How does he get away? Shit, shit shit shit, what if she changes her mind? What if this was all fake? Does she plan to stab him in the back and drain his organs of their fluid? Suck his brain out through his eye- Okay, now is not the time for an anxiety attack. Jesus Christ-_

“Actually,” her tone shifts, both thoughtful and curious- if that was even possible, “I do have something you can help me with.”

Arthur gulps, “Y-yeah? What.. is it?” 

The woman turns her head, and then brushes away some of her hair.

Arthur gasps, anxiety doubling as he scrambles to his feet, stepping closer without thinking.

“Oh god.. shit I know what that is..”

“You do?”

“Yeah.. uh.” He gulps again, glancing at his shaky hand uncertainly, “They’re called uh.. well _I_ don’t know what it’s called, but I tend to use the term _Wormites.”_

Her bark had already begun to deteriorate, becoming a soggy gray color and nearly pulsing from the flesh of the tree. Several holes were chewed into the flesh, and Arthur could easily make out the feathered butt poking out of one of them.

She nods, probably without caring, “It’s a nuisance more than anything.”

“When did it attach?”

“Last night actually, I can feel it burrowing into my neck.” As she says that, Arthur catches a glimpse of the wormite scittering deeper. He shudders. But nods and steps around her- only reaching up to her shoulder.

“You may wanna lean down? It’ll be easier if I have full access to the back of your neck.”

“Hm. I see.”

It was a weird situation, Arthur realized, as the large tree woman leans forward and lays flat on her front. At least it made it easier, since she was now shorter than him. Brushing the thought off Arthur kneels down and brushes her hair away. The infected area wasn’t spreading as much, but they should get rid of it now

Arthur sucks in his breath, faintly recalling just how _gross_ it was to touch these things. Bracing himself, Arthur traces his fingers along the infected holes, scraping his nails along the rotten bark. A _shift_ grabs his attention. _Yuck, there it is..._ The hole moves some more, shrinking and expanding for a moment. Arthur traces along the hole, before drumming his fingers. The pulsing grows more frequent.

“What are you doing?” The deep vibration of her voice makes the bark move, and the hole steadies as a new one begins to pulse.

“Hey, I know this is weird, but you have to stay still.” Arthur says sternly, tempting to wipe away a bead of sweat along his forehead. The tree woman huffs, but says nothing.

Repeating the motions, Arthur pinches some dirt and sprinkles it along the hole. Long antenna-like appendages begin to tickle along the edges of the hole and his fingers. 

_Now for the worst part._

Arthur ghosts his finger tip across the twitching antennas.

And the wormite lunges. It’s fat, plump body slinking out of the deflating hole. Many arms pinching out to grab and latch onto his hand.

It wasn’t faster than him though. Taking his chance, Arthur grabs the thick body and _yanks._ the wormite slipping out of the rot quickly as Arthur pulls its full _foot length_ body free. As soon as it’s feathered tail shows itself, Arthur turns and slams it against the dirt beside him. It starts to scramble away.

But a large, bark covered fist slams into the dirt, squishing it instantly. 

Resisting the urge to puke, Arthur shivers and spits behind him. “Thanks...”

“Not a problem.” She tucks her hand under her chin, peering back at him. “Is that the only one?”

“Lemme check..” Arthur shuffles back. If they were lucky, that would have been the only one.

Of course, they weren’t, but Arthur wished they were as they repeated the process one, two, several more times. The revulsion never truly going away, even as he starts squishing them beneath his knee just to get it over with.

“Okay...” He breaths, swallowing back the growing saliva in his mouth as he examines the rotting wood. There was no more movement, mind for her breathing. “I think... you’re good. Yeah... although you _might_ want to get rid of the rot if you can..”

She pushes herself up, sitting back on her knees and bringing a hand back to poke and prod at the squishy material.

“No need, this can be handled easily.”

“You-you sure?” 

“Positive. Watch.” She brushes her hair away again, turning her neck and showing off the entire splotch again.

Several _flowers_ suddenly shoot out and bloom from the mass. As of eating the rot entirely.

Arthur was far too queasy to think more on it. “Perfect. Great..”

“I am grateful for your help. Those pesky creatures were a thorn in my side...” Suddenly, the woman glances down at him. “Are you hungry?” 

His stomach growls lightly. No wonder he felt so woozy. “Y-yes…”

She reaches up into the bonsai tree over her head, and plucks out a small, apple sized fruit that Arthur couldn’t recognize. Holding it out and letting him pluck it from her hand.

... _She just ... took it off her head..._ “Did... you flower this fruit?”

“I did. Is there an issue with that?”

“N-no, not exactly.” He sucks in his breath and sinks his teeth in, not wanting to frustrate her more than she already was if her tone meant anything. 

Shivering, Arthur struggles to swallow it.

“What’s wrong?” He could hear the interest lacing her tone, almost accusing.

The flavor tasted sweet and irony. The thin skin quickly gave way, and the insides felt like hard water. At the same time, it’s juices drip down his chin. He swallows and mutters, “N-nothing, just- didn’t expect the taste is all.”

“Hm, very well. I can’t offer you much else, so take your time.”

“Sure...” 

By now, his legs were beginning to cramp. Kneeling for so long made him feel weak, and the exhaustion from earlier was starting to kick in again.

Another bite. “By the way, what’s.. what’s your name?”

 _There’s a flicker of white in the back of his mind. It’s cold. Like a photograph._ But it vanishes after he swallows. He takes another bite.

“My name?” She sounds thoughtful, and she straightens up, expression showing nothing that could help him. 

Another bite, another flash. _It gets clearer the closer he gets to the stem. Briefly, it’s an old man with black hair, smiling._

_Nostalgic almost._

“I’m afraid I don’t have one. At least, I cannot recall the one that was actually given to me...” she doesn’t say anything else, eyes drifting to the other trees, staring at something Arthur wasn’t sure he had the strength to see. 

Another bite. _Red and pink lotus’s._

“Well. I suppose that isn’t entirely true.” She says with her lips curled into a smirk. “I was given a name by the ones who dared to try and stop me when I woke up again, months ago. According to the villages I ran into, I was a legend they prayed would stay hidden.”

Arthur watches her, the red fluid dripping down his hand. 

She smiles down at him, calm, relaxed.

_“Shiromori.”_

A chill runs down his spine. Nodding, Arthur takes another bite, trying to hide the discomfort.

If she noticed, she didn’t say anything. Instead Shiromori sighs in an almost happy manner, “I almost found it insulting when I was far younger, but now? I want to wear it with pride. I should have thanked the villagers who passed on those myths to their children.”

“It’s..” Arthur clears his throat, sitting straight up, “it’s a nice name, Shiromori.”

“Why thank you, I’m sure the bastard kitsune who hurt us both would disagree. But I’ll be sure to let him know.”

He isn’t sure what possessed him to do it, but he wipes his mouth and turns up to look at her, “M-my name’s Arthur.” Shiromori tilts her head, and Arthur’s stomach lurches as his thoughts begin to spin, “Thank you for the fruit.. it’s..” _shit. What can he say?_ “Its good.”

Shiromori didn’t seem to mind, leaning forward, “Arthur. Arthur the sunflower.” She smiles, as if proud of herself, before reaching forward with a massive hand and petting his head. “I have a lot to thank you for, but I’m afraid I have to be going now. It was nice chatting.”

 _Im sure it was,_ he grimaces lightly, _now while you go, I’m going to be stuck here aimlessly wandering-_

“Before I take you to the nearby human village, I want to repay you.”

.. What?

He straightens up as she pulls her hand away. Shiromori reaches up to her head-tree again, and plucks something else from it. A flower, which shrinks and tightens into a small bulb as she pushes it into his arms. 

“This flower has eight petals, and if you blow on it, it should bloom and release one petal to seek me.” Arthur grasps it awkwardly, trying to keep his grip on the bulb- it was bigger than his hand! “Once you do, I’ll know you are in dire need of help. I will come to your aid as quickly as I can, if the petal travels fast.”

“How long does it take?”

“Sometimes and hour, occasionally it’ll be days. It all depends on the distance between us. But wind travels fast, so I don’t think you should worry.”

“G-gotcha, thanks...” he swallows and glances down at his pocket, wondering if he could fit it in there. Would Vivi or Mystery be able to see it...? Surely they’d know he had it-?

“Something wrong?”

“I-I can’t fit it in my pocket. I don’t want to damage it-“

Shiromori hums, leaning forward. Cupping her large palms around his, she squeezes lightly. He could feel it losing mass and becoming compact in his hand before he could see it. “Woah... would you look at that...'' he laughs, easily pushing it into his pocket, and shifting his weight onto his arm to try and stand on wobbly legs. Shiromori follows, rising easily and plucking the back of his shirt to help Arthur up quicker.

A wave of aches slams all throughout him as his weight doubles from fatigue. He clenches his teeth to avoid saying anything.

“Even better,” Shiromori continues, “There’s a seed with that flower. If you care for it well, you will be able to find me even when you are old and frail.”

“G-gotcha. Hopefully I won’t have to bother you much after this.” He laughs airily, legs wobbling more than he cared to admit.

“Nonsense,” Shiromori laughs herself, sending shivers up his spine, before she reaches forward and grabs _him_ . Lifting him up - gently in comparison to earlier - and onto her shoulder. Unable to question it, Arthur wraps his arm around the bonsai and tries to hook his leg around her arm. Shaking like a leaf as he dares to look down and see how _high up_ he was...

“Arthur?”

“S-sorry, I’m-“ he takes a shallow breath, breaking out into cold sweat, “I'm afraid of heights..”

_”Heights?”_

“Uh.. how high up I am. It makes me nervous because I’m- afraid I’ll _f-fall.”_

 _Fall...!_ his head aches, and he leans closer to her head for support. 

She doesn’t seem bothered, humming lightly and looping arm around and pressing to his back, where several vines shoot out and lace around his legs and torso. “Better?”

It... it wasn’t. But they were firmly secured around him. It worked.

“Better.”

“Good. Let’s go then.”

The trek is quick and bumpy. Her long strides helped her nearly speed through the forest. On one hand, Arthur couldn't complain, he could see the lights of a few houses and a street light within ten minutes of walking. On the other, the dizziness doubled, and he clung to Shiromori in fear that he would vomit down the side of her back and stain her kimono- if that’s what it even was... he couldn’t tell when the world became a blur of dark and light.

Soon enough, his scratched up feet were pressing to the rough concrete. Still clinging to Shiromoris arm for support as the world recentered _(more like spun and flipped.)_

“Will you be alright, Arthur?” She asks, still not stepping out of the forest line. He nods, swallowing back sick, and he hesitantly releases and stands on his own. 

“Y-yeah... I should be fine. I’ll just- I have to... knock on some doors and ask for a phone...” he sputters between breaths, already nauseous just from staring at the homes. There were a few adults longing around- coming home from a night shift? Arthur couldn’t tell...

The grass and twigs crunches behind home and he twists his head around, watching Shiromori begin to vanish among the trees. “Sh..shiro.” 

She pauses. “Yes?”

“Thanks... for the help... g-good luck with- with the kitsune...”

A smile cracks across her face, “Thank you, Arthur. Stay safe.”

She leaves.

Panting, Arthur swallows and turns to the town, and shuffles into the streets to find help.

“Man, Lance should start locking your door at night.”

“Cant, I’ll just break the lock...” Arthur says, groaning lightly as Vivi readjusts his ice pack on his head. He wished she wasn’t here right now... sitting in a chair that’s pulled up to his bed, with a bag of supplies beside her. One too many times Vivi has had to play nurse for him. The guilt was starting to get overwhelming.

“Then he should barricade you in. Or better yet- offer me a room so that way I can make _sure_ you don’t wander off.” She smirks, prodding his cheek lightly, and Arthur cranes his neck away. 

“I can already feel the exhaustion and misery~”

“You asshole.” She smiles however, looking over his blanket to make sure it was properly tucked in. “How’s your ribs feeling?”

“I can hardly move...”

“And your legs?”

“Pins and needles, also can’t move.”

“Hm... gotcha.” She reaches over and lightly massages his knee over the covers. Hopefully she couldn’t feel the tremble or see the blush on his face as she did so.

Being taken care of like this... was awful. Vivi shouldn’t have to take off work just for him, and she shouldn’t have to _stress out_ over him...

The thought made him want to sink further into his bed. Maybe the mattress will be taken over by a mimic, and it’ll swallow him whole.

“Hey Artie,” he peers over his blanket at her, meeting her gaze. 

There’s... an intense look in her eye.

“Do you happen to have something that you got from the forest?”

He gulps, sinking further into his bed, “I ate some weird fruit. Might’ve been poisonous.. you know how the supernatural are.”

She nods slowly, “I hear that. They’re interesting.” Shifting, Vivi faces him head on, “Did you get anything last night? While you were sleepwalking.”

 _... should he... tell her?_ She was kind to him, but she still ate people. Shiromori _would_ have eaten him.

They’re friends now though... _is that right? Maybe she could even help him find Lewis, if he can get away from Vivi long enough to do so..._

“I think I picked a flower off some random tree, but it had thorns and I dropped it. Maybe it was that?”

Vivi’s expression doesn’t change, watching him quietly. Looking for his tells. He watched for hers.

Vivi’s lip twitches, and she sighs.

 _Shit._ “You don’t have to lie to me, Arthur.”

“I-I know... I just...” He averts his gaze, shrugging, “I don’t know. I want to keep it to myself.”

“May I at least see it?”

...

“N-no.”

Vivi slumps again, and nods. “You’ll come clean about it soon?”

She didn’t sound like she was asking, Arthur shuffles under his blanket more, and nods.

“Maybe.”


End file.
